Nordic Film Market showcases local pics

Market screens 20 new regional titles

The Nordic Film Market, which marks its 12th edition at this year’s Goteborg Film Festival, screens around 20 new regional titles specially selected for their ability to travel internationally, says market head Cia Edstrom.

The market, restricted to 250 badge- holders, also runs a very popular works-in-progress section that allows festival programmers, buyers and sales agents to get a look at movies that are due to be released in the region during the course of the year — giving them a vital head start.

The mart’s timing just before the Berlinale — this year it unspools Feb. 3-6 — allows industry professionals to review what the Nordic countries have to offer, begin talks and, often, seal deals a week or so later in Berlin’s European Film Market.

“The Nordic Film Market is a very good place for networking; the size is perfect for that,” says Edstrom. “A lot of buyers think it is great to come here before Berlin. It is easier to meet people. Berlin is quite stressful for everybody because it is a very big market.”

Although market screening auds are limited, there is free access to market events such as networking meetings and industry seminars to the 1,800 industry attendees at the festival.

The market is helped by the reputation that Goteborg has built up more than 30 years as Sweden’s leading film industry event, with a strong business and professional focus.

The phenomenal interest in Nordic, particularly Swedish, crime thrillers has been a boost for the mart in recent years.

Last year, it was the first festival to screen Daniel Espinosa’s “Snabba Cash,” launching an international sales career that quickly morphed into a Hollywood bidding war for English-language remake rights.

The festival has also shone an early light on other Nordic success stories, such as Danish directors Tobia Lindholm’s and Michael Noer’s prison drama “R,” which picked up the festival’s main prize, the Dragon Award, last year.

Market special events this year include a Nordic Crime Section, including Icelandic director Olaf de Fleur’s “City State,” a thriller with four characters bent on revenge and mutual destruction.

There will also be a seminar on distribution strategies for buyers of both Nordic commercial and arthouse movies.

Edstrom finds it hard to explain why there seems to be such a wave of new young directors — like Andreas Ohman, whose “Simple Simon” was a work in progress last year and is now Sweden’s entry for the foreign-language Oscar — but says the market targets emerging talent as much as it can.

“Teddy Bear”DenmarkDirector: Mads MatthiesenProducer: SF Film Prod., BeofilmLogline: A 38-year-old bodybuilder who still lives at home goes to Thailand in search of love and to overcome his shyness around women. Sales company: none